Almost Two Reindeer
by Karis Artemisia Judith
Summary: Kristoff and Anna traveled all night and day—they must have stopped to rest at some point, right? And they had to keep warm somehow...Obviously they cuddled up with Sven. It's the clear solution. It's just a shame they weren't traveling with two reindeer.


The princess fell into a snowdrift. Again.

Kristoff sighed, rubbing a mitten across his face. He kept telling himself that the next time she went wandering off instead of following in his trail the way she was supposed to, and ended up half buried in snow for her trouble, that he would just wait for her to get herself out. But her useless flailing was too pathetic, and every time he'd found himself hoisting her up by her armpits and setting her back on her feet. This time, though, he would be tough. She had destroyed practically everything he owned, he reminded himself.

But this time she didn't thrash around, digging herself deeper into the loose powder. She just lay where she'd fallen, spread eagled with her face pressed into the snow. After a minute he finally went over to crouch next to her. He nudged her side.

"You okay?"

"Fine," she said, voice muffled. "I'm fine. I'll be up in a second. I'm just…gearing up for it."

"Right." Kristoff rolled his eyes—it's not like she was looking anyway—and reached out to pick her up one more time. Except that when he set her on her feet, she slipped back unto her bottom almost immediately, as if her legs had given out under her.

"You sure you're okay?" he asked skeptically, taking her hand to pull her back up.

She wobbled a bit, but stayed upright. "Fine! Definitely fine. Thanks. We should get moving. Is it this way?" She took a few more steps and caught her foot on something hidden in the snow. She would have pitched forward if he hadn't caught her with an arm around the waist. Kristoff frowned down at her ice incrusted hair as she sagged limply against his grip for a moment. Then she straightened up and tried to stride forward again. He held onto her.

"Look, I think you need a break." She twisted to scowl at him, tugging away from his arm, and he had to catch her again as she tripped over the same obstacle. Wrong tactic. She was such a headstrong little idiot, he thought. She would insist on going on just to prove him wrong, and if he was going to keep her alive then she needed to rest. "_We_ need a break," he corrected himself. "Mostly Sven needs a break, really. He's a big baby. Well, and he did work all day yesterday. Can't overwork a reindeer, they get temperamental, and whiny, and Sven makes this dumb sad face..." He shut his mouth with a snap. Dammit, he was babbling. That was _her_ job. God, she was rubbing off on him. But she had stopped scowling and was looking thoughtful.

"Okay," she said. "If it's for Sven, we'd better stop. He does look, um, tired." Sven, who'd been digging enthusiastically at the snow to get at a patch of greenery beneath, looked up and the sound of his name and gave the princess his goofiest expression.

"Yeah, right," Kristoff muttered. "Okay, there should be some caves just up here, where we can be out of the wind." He used his hands on her shoulders to steer her around the rock that kept tripping her.

The cave wasn't deep—just a scoop out of the side of the mountain, really, an overhang that someone had carved out to make a refuge. Kristoff could have crossed the space in three big steps, but it was dry and out of the wind, and the princess was already sitting down, slumped against one of the rough walls. Sven hunkered down too, looking expectant.

"_One_ carrot," Kristoff said firmly. The reindeer gave him a look. "Fine, two carrots."

"Do I get a carrot?" the princess asked, the ghost of a smile on her face.

"You get jerky," he said, digging out a piece wrapped in paper and tossing it onto her lap. She was going to need the energy. "Just…chew it slowly. It's kind of tough."

He settled back, using Sven's side as a pillow while they swapped bites of carrot. The girl gnawed tentatively on the jerky, managing to eat half of it. Then she folded it back up in the paper and offered it back to him.

"You should have the rest of it."

He eyed her. In the dawn light that came through the cave entrance he could see that she was pale, the shadows making the skin under her eyes looked bruised. "I'm fine, you finish it."

"But—"

"Seriously, you need it if you're going to get up the rest of the mountain." He pushed her hand and the paper it held back towards her. "Besides, if you don't finish it, the goblins will get you."

"_What_?"

"Didn't adults ever tell you that? Clean your plate, or the goblins will get you and bite your toes?"

"No," she said slowly. "No, I've never heard that."

He shrugged. "I guess I haven't heard it in a long time either. A really long time." Kristoff shook his head, and brought his eyes back to the scrawny little red-head that wanted to climb mountains. "Anyway, just because you've never heard it doesn't mean that it isn't true. So eat up and then go to sleep."

She grinned. "Okay."

She finished the jerky.

Kristoff stared at his boots, idly kicking one foot.

Sven started to snore.

After a few minutes Kristoff looked up at her again. She had pulled her cloak around her, her knees tucked up to her chest. Her head was drooping, but she wasn't asleep. There was a small, fierce frown on her face, and she was shivering.

"Hey. What's wrong?"

She glanced up, and then down again. "I just…I wonder what Elsa's eating. Is she eating? Is there anything to eat on top of the mountain?"

"Not much," he admitted. "But she hasn't been gone long. I'm sure she's fine."

Her hands twisted, fiddled with the trim on her cloak. "Do you think she's cold?"

"Well…" He glanced at her face. She was staring at her feet, biting her lip. "Look, she has ice powers, right? It would be stupid if she was hurt by her own power. I bet she doesn't even feel the cold."

"That…that makes sense," she said. "I hope that's true. She has to be alive, right? Because she's still making it winter."

"Yeah. She's fine. Look—" he sighed. The queen may not feel cold, but the princess did. Her shivering wasn't stopping. "C'mere."

"What?" she blinked at him, and he leaned over to catch her arm and tug her toward him.

"You'll never get any sleep like that. Come sit against Sven. You'll smell like reindeer, but he's warm."

She settled gingerly against Sven's furry side, then huddled closer to the warmth. "I guess that's why you smell the way you do, huh?" she said.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked.

She laughed. "Nothing. Sorry." She laid her cheek against Sven's back. "This is better. I have decided to like the smell of reindeer. In fact I wish there were two Svens." She shifted around, trying to get as much of herself either pressed against the reindeer or under her cloak as possible.

"Here, let me," Kristoff said impatiently. "Sit up for a second and tuck your arms in to your chest." She obeyed, looking up at him curiously, and he wrapped the cloak around her like swaddling. The he paused. "Look," he said finally. "I'm not trying to be…anything. Or start anything. But in the mountains sometimes people stay close to keep warm, okay? I know in the city people worry about propriety and touching but…this is the mountains. It's just practical. It doesn't mean anything. Okay?"

"Okay?" Her eyelids were drooping, but she was still shivering a little whenever an errant bit of wind found its way in.

"Okay, right. Here—" He lifted her so that she was sitting partly on his lap, away from the cold stone ground, and turned his body so that she was tucked securely between his bulk and Sven's broad furry side.

"Oh," she mumbled. "I get it. It's almost as good as two reindeer."

"Right," he said, relieved that she hadn't fought her way out of her cloak to slap him. "Now get some sleep, princess."

"Anna," she said, jabbing at him with an elbow that was surprisingly sharp, even though all the layers of clothing.

"Ow! Okay, okay. Anna."

She sighed, and he thought for a moment that she'd gone to sleep. Then she shifted, curling up a little closer.

"Elsa doesn't have anyone to keep her warm," she murmured. "Elsa needs someone to keep her warm."

"Yeah, well, once your find her you can adopt a reindeer, okay? Now go to sleep. I'll wake you in a couple of hours."

Anna nodded, turning a little, and ended up with her head turned into his shoulder instead of Sven's fur. Maybe he was less smelly than the reindeer after all. She began to snore.

Kristoff shifted her so that she was nestled more comfortably in his arms, carefully moving her elbows away from him, and settled down to wait.


End file.
